Love's Epitaph
by GaleSynch
Summary: AU: Saved by her father, Bianca sets out to repay him by trying to fulfill the Great prophecy. Her father, Hades hated Percy Jackson, but he didn't say she couldn't ask him for his help. Once her job is done though, she needs to leave... Percy/Bianca. Nico/Rachel. Leo/Annabeth.
1. Chapter 1

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter One: Awake And Alive.**

* * *

"_You took something!" He accuses. "The bow!"_

_Trembling, she chokes back a sob and replies. "I..." she falters as she cast her gaze downwards. "I didn't. It's not the bow—" Unable to finish under the son of Poseidon's intense stare, she holds out the small figurine. "It's for Nico it's the only figurine he doesn't have."_

_"We're going to die—how can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" Their satyr friend cries out in fear and dives for cover._

_She opens her mouth to say something._

_"Run!" He interrupts, grabbing her arm, pulling her along as he runs from it. His hands are warm and comforting even in times like this, she thinks._

_An arc of lightning shot out of their friend's spear; and their opponent changes it's course to face her. He and her are breathing harshly, trying to gather their breath. "Throw it down. Maybe it'll leave us alone then."_

_Reluctantly, thinking of her little brother's overjoyed face if he had the figurine she has now, she drops the statue. But yet, the thing doesn't stops. "What do we do now?" she asks weakly._

_"Crazy idea time," the son of Poseidon says; his eyes wild as he looks at her. "There must be a control inside the thing... somewhere... I'll go, just distract it—"_

_"No," she decides firmly. She bends down and picks the figurine of Hades up again and hands it to him. "If—if anything happens to me... give it to Nico and tell him that... I'm sorry." Then she turns away so he won't be able to see her tears._

_She charges at their opponent, hearing his and her superior's distressed cries of her name, and clings on to him as tightly as she can. "Get it to lift it's leg up!" she cries though her whole being screams for them to do the otherwise._

_One shall be lost in the land without rain—it's her, the prophecy's about her. She knows the moment the Oracle's gaze had flicker to her, so fleeting that no one else will be able to see it. Swallowing the grief and dread that suddenly rises up in her, she leaps into the hole._

_Agilely—courtesy of Artemis' blessing to her Hunters—she climbs around inside the robot's body, groping for the switch that will turn the thing off. Curse Hephaestus, she thinks as one wrong pull on the wrong switch made the whole thing shook, as if it is dancing. She hangs on for dear life—which isn't going to last any longer, she is sure of it—and pulls on another switch._

_This time, she is sure the thing's running somewhere. Even from a far, a feat so impossible that it shouldn't be thought of, she can hear her friends' cries of her name, their rushed footsteps as they chase after the thing that's indrectly holding her prisoner. She gropes for a switch that will off the thing, though futile an attempt, she wishes that she can make it back to her friends._

_Tears streams down her face as the first jolts of electricity numbs her with pain. More pain wracks her body as the Talos model falls apart. She is going to die. The matter is the time of when._

_"Dad..." she prays. "Help me... I know"—she swallows the blood that flows from her mouth—"you can do something."_

_The last thing she sees before loosing consciousness is the mirage of the son of Poseidon screaming her name, tears of frustration in his eyes as he crawls around the wreckage with her other friends, trying to find her._

_And the image of a man that resembles her little brother greatly._

_"Dad," she calls, reaching out for him weakly._

_The Lord of the Underworld, on his mighty black throne, reaches out and clasps her hand firmly and everything went dark._

**PxB**

Pain.

It is the first thing Bianca feels as she wakes. Which is surprising since she didn't count on waking up ever again. Maybe she can wake, but without the pain. They say the afterlife is filled with bliss. Her eyes feels as if they weighted a thousand pounds each; they are so heavy that she can barely open them.

The face hovering above hers, concern showing in his features surprises her. "Nico?" she rasps weakly, voice hoarse, throat so sore that it hurts.

"No, child." The voice of the face replies. He holds out something for her to drink, supporting her back as she tries to sit up to take a drink. Her instincts tell her that the drink the man's offering can help her, can ease the pain. "Drink." He says rather unnecessarily because by then, Bianca is already drinking greedily.

When the fluid hits her throat, the pain in it disappears instantly. And gradually, so does the pain in the other parts of her body. But her body is slowly starting to burn from the inside so she stops drinking for now she has identified the drink—nectar, the drink of the gods that will kill her if she keeps on drinking.

Her eyes now gets to see her surroundings clearly. She is in a room, covered in velvet black and majestic purple. The bed sheets are plain black and purple but the material are as soft as feathers and as smooth as silk. The walls are black with torches to lit the otherwise gloomily dark room.

And the only other person besides her is the man she remembers calling as her father. Now that she can see properly, she realizes that he is her father. With the oily/silky black hair, pale skin and ebony eyes, he looks just like an older version of Nico. Bianca looks nothing like her father, Hades on first glance but she can see that the shape of her eyes and nose are the same as his, the oily/silky black hair and eyes are from him as well.

"Dad?" she asks hesitantly.

The Lord of the Underworld nods, a ghost of a smile pulling on his lips. "Bianca," he says, shifting uncomfortably. "I suppose I should explain as to how you're alive."

"I thought I died—" The words come rushing out: her memories muddled, her time spent in the Hotel Lotus and Casino, the military school, the Hunters of Artemis, the quest and finally, her supposed death.

She stops, breathing harshly and Hades' eyes softened. "I hid you and your brother in the Hotel on purpose."

"You put us there? Where's mom then? I thought children of the gods are raised by their mortal parents—"

"She's dead." Hades looks away, eyes veiled in sorrow and face darkened in fury and anguish. The message is clear: Don't ask about her mother.

And so Bianca doesn't even if it pains her; she is a considerate person and her father had saved her. She should be looking for ways to repay him. Bianca looks at her hand and realizes that the glow that accompanies all Hunters of Artemis had disappeared.

Hades, noticing her bewildered gaze at her normal-looking arm answers the unasked question. "Your oath to Artemis is gone. I broke it once I pulled you out before you can perish in the explosion."

"Why?" she asks.

Hades scowls. "I don't want you to be forever loyal to that upstart goddess—and be single forever? Bah!" the lord of the dead scoffs as if the mere suggestion is ridiculous. "Besides, I thought you had a crush on someone?"

He leans forward, curious for her answer.

Bianca leans back and turns away to hide her blush. "Yeah, I think I like him. But he doesn't like me—not that way."

Hades sighs, shaking his head, disappointed. "So you decided to give up by being a Hunter of Artemis without trying? How will you know his feelings if you don't ask? What that son of Poseidon thinks of you?"

Bianca wants nothing more than to bury her head in her pillow when her father asks her those questions—first conversation with her father and they are talking about her love life, or the lack thereof. Stumbling over her words like a klutz, she replies, "Percy's only part of the reason of why I joined the Hunt—"

"The other reason being that you won't have to keep taking care of your brother anymore." Hades finishes. "I understand; he is a brat anyway—I can barely stand him back then." Bianca doesn't missess the implication that Hades had visited them in the past, before their memories were wiped away and placed in the Hotel that bends time.

Bianca wants to protest and defend her brother, but the answer she comes out with is too inappropriate: That's because he's too much like you, dad. Instead, she asks, "You can barely stand me too?"

Hades cups his daughter's cheek affectionately, though rather stiffly. "No. I care about you. Which is why I saved you a year ago."

Bianca blinks owlishly. "A year ago?" she echoes dumbly.

Hades nods, pulling back his hand, sensing his daughter's discomfit stiffness—apparently, she isn't comfortable with him yet. "Yes. You've been in coma, your wounds almost killed you. Your strong will saved you and some other things." He grumbles, thinking of the son of Poseidon—that little brat!—and his younger child—just like his cousin, they must love one another very much, he thinks sardonically—that must've been Bianca's lifeline.

"W-what's Nico, Percy and Zoe doing now?"

"That Nightshade died in the quest"—Bianca's jaw drops open in horror—"Jackson and your brother are in the Labyrinth."

"Labyrinth?" Bianca knows her Greek history so she says, "The one where Theseus—"

"Slain the Minotaur and blah, blah, blah." Hades stands and Bianca registers, for the first time, how tall he is. "Rest. You aren't fully recovered just yet."

"Dad!" Bianca cries, jumping of the bed and running towards her father who stills when she throws her arms around him. He awkwardly returns her hug and pulls back almost after a second. "Thank you," she says and for the first time, Hades notes, she smiles.

It brings a painful stab to Hades' chest seeing his daughter's smile. It reminds him too much of her mother, Maria di Angelo, whom he'd loved dearly and still do, he suppose.

He leaves but not before Bianca sees the small quirk of his lips. His way of smiling perhaps.

Then it finally sinks in: she's awake and alive.

And for now, that's all that matters.

**PxB**

* * *

A/N: What do you think?

Vote in my profile for the Daughter of Time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter Two: Help Me Please.**

* * *

Cold wind rustles the leaves above the grave of Bianca di Angelo.

But Percy Jackson doesn't feel it. Not when the phantom pain of loosing someone—that might have been more than a friend—precious to him is still fresh in his mind. He also doesn't remember how he got to where he is now: the daughter of Hades' grave.

He crouches down and sweeps away a few stray leaves that had landed on Bianca's grave. No one visits the grave much because Bianca isn't even a camper. The Huntresses can't always be there, but when they did, he suppose they will pay their fallen comrade respects.

But Percy... he comes here everyday.

To say sorry. Oh how sorry he is, to have let Bianca died.

"Hey there, Bianca," Percy croaks, the same warm feeling in his eyes every time he comes here surfaces again. "How it's going?"

Then he winces at how stupid it sounded. He clears his throat and tries again. "I'm sorry I didn't bring any flowers today"—I'm so sorry for many other things too: letting you die, loosing your brother when you entrusted him to me, failing to give him your last present—"but I just wanted to tell you that, tomorrow me and a few of my friends are going inside the Labyrinth."

He runs a hand through his wind-swept raven hair.

"Nico might be there," he says as if she can hear him. "I'm going to find him for you." He cracks a bitter grin. "Watch over me, eh?"

Silence answers him and he immediately feels stupid for trying to talk to a stone and the earth. He closes his eyes and reopens them again to look at the moon. "I promised myself that I would let you go. To not let you haunt me anymore but... it's harder than expected—"

He is interrupted by the screeches of harpies. His eyes widens as he recalls the time, briefly, he turns back to the graveyard and says, "Shoot. I've got to go. I'll come back soon."

He hesitates halfway in his steps.

"Promise."

**PxB**

Bianca straightens and looks around the plains of the Underworld.

"Is something wrong?" Melinoe, the goddess of ghosts and Bianca's trainer-slash-half-sister asks. Bianca turns back to the goddess and shakes her head.

"No..." she says. "I just thought... I heard someone..."

"It doesn't matter," Melinoe says icily, crossing her arms. "What is it that you need from me?"

"Is it true that you have a way of out the Underworld?" Bianca asks.

"What would you do if I say yes?" Melinoe questions, leaning forward in anticipation, smirking. "You have a nice life here, by Daddy's side and you want to leave?" the goddess' voice was bitter, filled with resentment.

"I need to go. Nico needs me." The daughter of Hades insists. "Please help me." She begs, pushing her lower lip into a pout and widening her already watery ebony eyes.

Melinoe hesitates. "You aren't fully trained yet." It isn't that the goddess of ghosts cares about what happens to her half-sister. If Hades found out that Melinoe had let his favorite daughter go on a suicide journey, there will be, well... Hades to pay.

As if reading her mind, Bianca says, "I'll take the blame. I'll make sure dad won't punish you." When Melinoe hesitates, she makes another push. "If I die, it isn't your fault. I'll be out of your side forever, you won't have to train me anymore."

Melinoe huffs, "You asked for it." And snaps her fingers.

**PxB**

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Bianca cries as she dodges another trap. She doesn't know how long has it been since she last saw light or any other form of light. Time is hard to tell in the Labyrinth.

The ghost of Theseus nods. "I'm sure of it. The ranch is close!"

Light enters the daughter of Hades' vision. "Is that it?" she yells.

"Yes!" Theseus' faint reply echoes around her as he evaporates, his service over.

Bianca brakes through the threshold between the Labyrinth and the real world. She looks around as she inhales fresh air. The moon is shining brightly in the night sky, which makes Bianca smile, thinking about her former, brief mistress. She wonders if Artemis can see her now, as she walks under the moonlight.

She doesn't know where to go but she trudges on anyway, intent on finding life. Her head turns from right to left constantly, her eyes—having adjusted to the darkness—searching.

"Bianca?"

Said girl's head shoots up and looks for the person that had said her name. She squints but she needn't to, the luminous sea-green eyes glinted even in the dark tells her who it is. "Percy? Is that you?" she asks, taking a step forward.

The son of Poseidon chokes out, "H-how did you survive? We couldn't find you anywhere in the wreckage. For a year, we—I—thought you were dead!"

The daughter of Hades shushes him. She looks around but she doesn't find what she wants. "Come, let's go somewhere more, ah, secluded."

Percy frowns but he leads her to wherever the place she requested for is. Bianca studies him and notices that Percy has grown taller; his body leaner, his skin tanner, his voice an octave lower and his hair as black as ever. The former Hunter of Artemis blushes as she realizes that she's checking out the boy before her.

It doesn't surprise Bianca much when Percy ends up leading her to the creek. He stops, crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow in her direction. "Well? Aren't you going to explain anything?"

Bianca takes a deep breath before telling him of her tale. Once she's done, she waits nervously for the son of Poseidon's reaction.

Percy frowns. "I never thought that Hades had a heart." He cracks a genuine grin. "But if it's you, I guess I can understand."

Bianca blushes and she hopes that he doesn't sees it. "Nico will be overjoyed!" Percy continues. "He'll leave with you for camp right? A safer place."

The daughter of Hades suddenly takes an interest in the ground. "Percy... my father..." she falters for a moment before continuing. "He doesn't care about Nico. I need to help Nico prove himself to our father. Can you help me?"

Percy opens his mouth, most likely to protest, before shutting up and nodding.

"For now, no one but you can know that I'm still alive, do you understand?" Bianca searches his eyes for sincerity.

Percy nods again. "I do but... what about Nico?"

"He'll find out soon enough."

"What are you going to do now then?" Percy asks, flexing his fingers before crossing his arms again. "Where are you going to go? Why did go into the Labyrinth in the first place?"

"Once Nico leaves," Bianca lowers her voice and says, "I'll join you guys in your quest."

"But it's too dangerous!" the son of Poseidon protests. "You could get hurt and die for real this time! Hades can't possibly always be there to save you—"

Bianca smiles. "But you'll be there to save me right? This time around."

Face hidden in the shadows, Bianca can't make out Percy's red face. He turns away quickly when the moon seems to shift and shines down on him to hide his red face. "Yeah," he says, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips as he realizes that he gets a second chance to protect her. "I'll be there for you."

**PxB**

The next day, Bianca watches from her perch above the tree, hidden by the branches of leaves as Nico leaves. When she is sure, Nico is far from eye range, she drops down from the tree and approaches Percy. She tugs on his sleeve for his attention.

The blonde girl jumps in surprise, her hand immediately flies to her dagger. "Who—"

Seeing, Percy's other companions drawing their weapons, Bianca pushes her silver hood off. She smiles at them. "Hello," she says, still smiling faintly. "I'm Bianca di Angelo. Daughter of Hades."

The satyr she remembers as Grover stumbles backwards. "G-ghost." He stuttered.

The cyclopes whom she is unfamiliar with whimpered. "Don't like ghosts."

The daughter of Athena eyes her owlishly. "Percy said you were dead. How...?"

Bianca holds up her palm to silence them. Percy looks at her in awe, now only did he realize that the daughter of Hades too has a commanding presence. He supposes that she can be a good, silent yet nice leader. "I'll explain later," she says. "For now... we must get moving."

"Yeah," the son of Poseidon finally speaks, supporting his cousin. "We have to go now. Time's running out."

With uncertain looks at the daughter of Hades, the five plunges back into the Labyrinth.

**PxB**

* * *

A/N; Do you like it? Hate it?


	3. Chapter 3

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter Three: Jealousy.**

* * *

Surreal, everything that had happened was just too surreal to Annabeth. The daughter of Athena sneaked another glance at the daughter of Hades. She'd heard of her before from Percy, Thalia and Grover. The way they praised her had hurt more than it had hurt her when Percy praised Zoe.

She didn't want to face reality yet. But that didn't mean she was blind. She can tell from Percy's always expressive eyes that he had feelings for the younger girl. At first, Annabeth was puzzled, what did the daughter of Hades had that she didn't?

When Annabeth met Bianca di Angelo for the first time, she thought that maybe she knew why she couldn't compare to the younger girl. Bianca possessed silky hair as dark as the rich soil of the earth, olive skin and eyes the color of teak wood And most of all, that smile. The smile though hard won was sweet. She definitely was different from Annabeth's typical stereotype blondes, grey eyes that Percy admitted was scary, overly tan skin and a splash of almost non-existent freckles across her face that had pimples here and there.

"—beth? Annabeth!"

The sound of her name being called drew her attention and Annabeth turned her attention back to Percy. "What's wrong?" she asked, slightly disoriented.

Bianca frowned at her, for what, she didn't know—and didn't want to know nor did she care.

"Er, did you know that you almost walk right into the chasm?" the daughter of Hades' frown deepened as if she'd finally realized how idiotic Annabeth was for a daughter of Athena and frankly, it irked the blonde which made her scowl in Bianca's direction.

After a moment of doing this, she turned to her front to see why Bianca had stopped her from advancing.

She instantly took a step back.

"See what I mean?" Bianca sighed, rubbing her forehead. "We're losing the spider. I'll climb the ladder first—"

"I'll go first," Annabeth interrupted and without further ado, jumped for the ladder and started climbing. She heard Percy grumbling and Bianca's chuckles at whatever he'd just said before the sound of grunting came from behind, an indication that the children of the Big Three had started after the blonde.

She caught snippets of their conversation:

"Ugh—she's scared of some measly spider but not falling to her death?" That was Percy's voice followed by a grunt of exertion.

Bianca merely chuckled—why did she often do that? Annabeth wondered, slightly irritated as she landed safely on the other side of the chasm. The blonde caught the spider crawling out of sight and turned to her companions, wanting to tell them to hurry up or they'll lose their only lead to Hephaestus.

What she saw made her blood boil in rage. "Hurry up," she sneered right after she saw Percy catching Bianca when she jump down from the ladder.

"R—right." Bianca muttered, face as red as Percy's which was starting to resemble a tomato.

This time, instead of clustering together, the demigods ran in a straight line. Percy was closer to Annabeth and the blonde wished he'll just fall back and chat with Bianca instead of her once he brought up the topic:

"Why don't you like Bianca?" the son of Poseidon asked curiously but being his friend for so long, Annabeth can catch the edge of a dangerous tone in his voice.

"I never said that." The daughter of Athena replied curtly and quickened her pace.

Percy mimicked her.

"Give her a chance," he murmured. "She's nice and fun to have as a friend." His voice sounded wistful as if he wished that their friendship was something more.

Annabeth sighed, frustrated, the lines of the prophecy haunting her just as much as Percy's closeness to Bianca did. She hated the world and the three Fates now—why did they have to take away both of the two men she loved the most in the world?

"Look," her voice unwillingly coming out as a snap. "Will you quit it? I'll be the one to judge who I want as a friend."

Percy huffed.

"With your attitude, I wonder how you have as many friends as you have right now."

Annabeth's temper flared. "Is that an insult, Percy Jackson?!"

Bianca looked up when she heard Annabeth raise her voice. She didn't want them to argue. Especially when it concerned her. She opened her mouth to diffuse the situation but instead, a cry tore from her lips as her feet hit empty air.

The last things she heard was Percy's voice: "Bianca!"

**PxB**

Annabeth shouldn't be feeling slightly satisfied and smug as she was right now. It was jealousy, she knew it but wasn't willing to admit it. She loved Luke didn't she—even after what he did to her and her other precious people? But... but what if the prophecy had meant Bianca taking away Percy from her instead?

It was with that last thought that Annabeth knew why she was feeling slightly more cheerful than earlier. But seeing Percy's brokenly sad expression dampened her mood. She cleared her throat as if the words that were going to come out next were hard to get out before saying, "We'll find her Percy—after we find Hephaestus then we'll go—"

Only when Percy's head snapped up to glare at her did she realize her tone of voice had been wrong. She sounded anything but reassuring or concern to Percy, in fact, she sounded nonchalant as if Bianca falling into a pit was something that was bound to happen sooner or later.

"You don't mean that," the son of Poseidon snapped heatedly. "You don't care about Bianca at all! You'd rather her be dead didn't you?!"

The daughter of Athena glared at Percy for daring to raise his voice at her. She snapped, "So what if I don't care?!"

Before Percy got the chance to retort, a new deeper and gruffer voice interrupted them. "Please bring your lover's spat somewhere else. I'm busy here as far as you can see and I'm not in a good mood."

The two demigods turned in unison to where the voice had came from.

"Lord Hephaestus?"

The god of forges and fire looked up when Annabeth addressed him hesitantly. "Aye, lass. What is it that you seek?"

**PxB**

Bianca woke up with a groan. She felt pain building up from the pressure she was applying to her right side and tried to shift into a more painless position when she realized that she was bound. She can turn, surely but her hands were wrapped in celestial Bronze chains to her torso, severely restricting her from moving easily—or fight back when there were enemies.

She struggled. A natural reaction for anyone who found themselves bound.

She finally decided that it was a lost cause and chose to call out, "Hello?" she said to the empty air. "Is anyone there?"

At first, she was greeted by silence. Then as she strained her ears till her blood was practically roaring in her ears, she heard it: footsteps that definitely belonged to human.

So she was kidnapped then.

Bianca tried not to hyperventilate when she came to this conclusion. Instead, she focused on the person lurking in the shadows. She swallowed and finally managed to gather up the courage to ask, "What do you want with me?"

A dark chuckled answered her. "Odd, I thought a girl's reaction was to demand they be release."

The daughter of Hades' nose trails flared. She was a former Huntress of Artemis and as brief as her time with them was, she was quick to pick up on their scorn for men who had no respect for women. She spat, "Don't underestimate women." with venom.

Another dark chuckle resounded in the small room. Cell would be a more appropriate word though, Bianca thought to herself as her night vision kicked in, allowing her to see in detail—being a child of Hades, they can see in the dark—what was in the room. Torture equipment were practically the decorations of the room, the mat she was lying on was dusty and dirty and the walls had cobwebs on them, spiders crawling around. The door was rusty and chained heavily, which begged the question of how her captor managed to come in without opening the door when she clearly couldn't see any other exit.

At least there was air ventilation, she tried to look on the bright side even though she was severely under the deep end.

"Finished checking out your new room?" The man that had spoken took a few steps forward, allowing Bianca to see even more of him.

His sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was brushing his shoulders, his cold cobalt eyes held dark amusement and bitterness in them, his tan skin pale and sickly in the dark.

She recognized him on sight since she'd seen him in the picture frames hanging in the Big House when she'd went and toured the place together with Zoe.

"Luke Castellan...?"

"That's right," A long pause on the man's side before a sneer tug on his lips. "daughter of Hades."

* * *

**PxB**

**A/N: There are rarely any other parings for Bianca other than Percy but I understand since she's not that important in canon and didn't have much of a screen time.**

**So... the question is... should there be some Luke/Bianca action somewhere in there? To fuel Annabeth and Bianca's rivalry? And don't worry about their relationship, it'll mend soon... I think.**

**Even if there's Luke/Bianca, the main pairing will still be Percy/Bianca!**

**So no worries, review your answer!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter Four: Escape.**

* * *

Annabeth had never thought Percy as the type to give a cold shoulder to his friends no matter how bad their argument got. But now, that was what the son of Poseidon currently doing to her. The daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon had certainly argue before but this was the first time Percy didn't try any attempts on reconciling. And it irked her; why should she be the one apologizing when he was the one to snap at her in the first place? Silently, she knew that her fatal flaw was holding her back from doing so and a part of her mind kept reminding her that she should start changing before it get her killed.

Sighing, the blonde was about to say something to the brunette boy when he spoke up first. But even if he spoke for the first time since their argument, his tone was cold and lacked the usual warmth and playfulness and it nearly made Annabeth wince.

"We're here," Percy announced solemnly, gazing at the volcanic rocks. Eyes saddening as he was reminded of the deceased Zoe's eyes. He pursed his lips, thinking of Zoe led to him thinking of Bianca. He tried not to think of the daughter of Hades because it'd just affect his performance on the current quest which meant the survival of Camp Half-Blood—but he was just so worried about her!—so he really shouldn't be distracted.

Annabeth peered over his shoulder to see the place. Her hand crept to her pocket where her invisible cap was; she said, "Look, I'll go scout the place. Stay hidden." And disappeared without waiting for Percy's reply—that's if he even wanted to reply.

Percy hadn't wanted to reply in the first place because his plans weren't as great as Annabeth's so he should just follow whatever she had planned. He knew that, having been the blonde's partner for years.

The last thing he expected to happen to him was for him to meet the culprit that'd been lurking in Hephaestus' old forges. He'd gawked at them for a while, in disbelief before fleeing.

"Annabeth!" he called, desperately hoping the girl can hear him and wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal herself to him and his pursuers where she was—no ripple in thin air meant that she wasn't as careless as Percy thought. "Don't come out! Get out of here—"

"What?" a familiar voice hissed from behind his right ear. "You expect me to just leave you, Seaweed Brain?!"

Percy turned around only to see Annabeth whip off her invisible cap.

"Don't!" he protested. "Get out of here, I'll distract them and lure them away!"

"Never!"

"Please—"

Percy didn't know what had convince Annabeth to let him handle things, it may have been the desperation in his tone or the puppy dog eyes he was giving her at the moment but whatever it was the daughter of Athena relented.

Annabeth hesitated before she leaned forward and kissed Percy on the lips. "Stay safe, Seaweed Brain," she murmured before putting on her cap and disappearing. The softly fading rather quickly tapping on the ground indicated that Annabeth was fleeing.

The son of Poseidon would have sat there the whole day in shock, trying to remember his own name but the telekhines never gave him the chance.

Percy, in his daze, at least managed to run into another direction that Annabeth hadn't went to. But he met a bad end anyway.

His last thought as he was blow up into the sky—so high Zeus'd have blasted him to bit if he wasn't on his way to Hades already—was that: _That kiss felt so weird_. _How would Bianca's feel like_? And _I hope Hades hadn't heard what I was thinking of his daughter that way_.

**PxB**

Said girl in Percy's thoughts was currently planning her escape. Bianca had planned to wait out because she knew she was bait for Percy and Annabeth to come. They will definitely come for her—and even if Annabeth didn't want to, Percy will make her or he'd come himself.

Waiting was out of the option and when the daughter of Hades had that thought. She didn't want to endanger her friends—Percy was definitely something more but Annabeth...she wasn't so sure—and Lady Artemis would frown at her for playing the role of damsel in distress. She was a Huntress of Artemis, no matter how short her time was as one, she still honored that goddess and she wouldn't disappoint her.

So Bianca started planing her escape. Her room was dark most of the times, no shadow for her to shadow travel to. Luke made sure his minions wouldn't give her a chance of escape. They allowed her to roam free in the room because they knew she wouldn't be able to find a way out no matter how she dig or crawl. They kept her alive by giving her water daily, no food and Bianca was starving—would have died if it wasn't for Persephone's seeds; only a small hole that Bianca couldn't possibly crawl through was open, the place her air came from and where water bottles were given.

She checked every nook and cranny and by the end of the hour, she slumped onto the dirty mattress defeated and tired and hoping for her father to save her once again. She wonder did he even know she'd sneak out with Melinoe's help and how was the goddess of ghosts was doing now, she sincerely hoped Hades hadn't hurt his immortal daughter for his mortal daughter.

Just as she was wallowing in her self-pity of misery, a glint caught her eye and she lifted her dark orbs to stare blankly at the rusted old gold ring. She'd been there for quite a while and this was the first time she'd seen it. Was this a sign from her father? Bianca's hand stretched and grasped the ring, pulling her hand up to inspect it, trying to see what was so divine about the ring and how it'd help her if it was truly a sign from her father.

She found no magical devices. It was a normal, but made of gold, ring. Nothing special—_Wait_—Wasn't Hades the god of wealth? Could it be—is it what her father was trying to tell her? Bianca blinked, bemused; knowing that Hades was the god of wealth wouldn't get her out of there unless she was to bribe them—with an old rusty gold ring though, she wasn't so sure the monsters would even want it since they only joined Kronos so that they could roam free and wreck havoc on demigods.

But Bianca knew Hades wouldn't do something so meaningless. She stared at the ring that had seemed to rise seemingly out of nowhere but of the ground—she stopped her train of thoughts. She can summon dead skeleton warriors to her aid because they were from her father's domain. But riches—cash, gold nuggets, diamonds and everything of the sorts—from the earth...could she do that to?

Her father did told her that she could control part of his domain so why not?

It was worth the try, she had nothing to lose. Easing herself into a meditating position, Bianca closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, channeling her thoughts into the earth, all its riches—mountains and mountains of it, piling one on top another to reach the surface—

The earth rumbled, shook, cracked and out burst forth more than one mountain of gold, diamonds and _so much_ more glittery things. Bianca leaped to her feet and let out a shout of joy when she heard the shouts of the monsters as the gold rushed out and spilled on them.

The daughter of Hades bolted out of the door, viciously stepping on a telekhine's head as it popped out of the ground of gold—she mostly summoned gold dramachs; she hoped she hadn't bankrputed Olympus or her father by doing so.

"Don't let her escape!" Bianca turned her head, saw who had shouted and quickened her pace, when she realize that it was Luke. The tugging sensation in her gut turned painful and she nearly staggered when the imagined and hoped for a mountain of wealth to fall on Luke, burying him under.

"Stop," she groaned, hoping to stop the spill of riches from the ground. "Enough."

The earth stopped shaking, the enemies disoriented and the gold littering the earth was now the only prove of Bianca's show of powers.

She was free; Bianca ran like the wind, throwing herself into the darkness of the Labyrinth.

**PxB**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter Five: Reconcilation.**

* * *

Bianca didn't how long she wandered the Labyrinth. All she knew was that she wanted to get the Hades out of there and eat and maybe, just maybe she wanted to see Percy. Her stomach rumbled and she groaned, silently telling it to wait a little longer. She looked around her and wasn't surprise to see that her surroundings had changed again; she'd gotten used to them like... a few days ago?

She turned when she heard some suspicious creaking sound from behind her. A sound that she'd only heard from the Fields of Punishment. Oh please don't let it be—

Zeus' balls. A huge axe swung right towards her neck. Tha daughter of Hades could only watch in horror, lacking the energy and speed to move anymore. An empty stomach did nothing to help her despite the adrenaline flowing through her veins. Instead of feeling energized, she felt like fainting. No more, her father saved her for nothing if she die now... but...

A warm body slammed into hers and they both went spiralling down the ground. The hit made her dizzy and the last thing she saw was green eyes looking into hers.

**PxB**

After loosing Bianca, blown up through a volcano, gotten the cold shoulder treatment from Annabeth, a battle in the arena for information on Bianca only to be told she was lost somewhere in the Labyrinth—probably dead—Percy couldn't believe things could get better.

But when a giant axe fell, they ducked but did not feel the woosh of air that signaled its passing above their heads, they instantly knew the axe was aiming for someone else. That someone else might be an enemy to them and the Labyrinth could've saved them from more trouble. That's if, Rachel hadn't threw herself forward, tackling the person the axe was aiming for.

The person beneath Rachel was out of it. But when Percy got closer to the two girls, he couldn't help the swell of relief and joy when he realized the person beneath Rachel was Bianca.

"Bianca!" he cried though she was unconscious. He turned imploringly to Annabeth, the one who knew first aids. And with a sigh of annoyance and some grumbling, Annabeth check Bianca for anything. She found none. "Let's make camp." He declared and the girls didn't protest.

They tended to Bianca's wounds as best as they can. But still, a cloud of worry was above Percy's head. It only disappeared, Annabeth noted with a twinge of jealousy, when Bianca awoke.

The daughter of Hades groaned and called out, "Dad?"

"You're not dead," Percy said, smiling with relief.

"Percy!" Bianca sat upright instantly and winced when her hand shrieked in protest—right, she broke her arm when she had an encounter with a hellhound. "Ow..." she eased herself so that she wasn't pressing on that wound.

"Here," Rachel handed Bianca some ambrosia and nectar. The brunette sipped the drink and chewed some of the delicacy, already feeling her body heating up when she ate half of it. She stopped and turned back to her current companions.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" she asked weakly, starting to feel unnerved when the demigods' stare didn't lighten up.

Percy blinked, snapping out of his reverie and started recounting what had happened when she was separated from them. The son of Poseidon left out the part where Annabeth kissed him, making said girl narrow her eyes at him and leaving the daughter of Hades suspicious of something.

"And this," Percy gestured to Rachel who waved at the children of the Big Three. "is our guide, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She's mortal."

"Hey," the only mortal among them said glumly, mood having went down when Percy mention that she was a mortal. Odd girl.

"Can you walk yet?" Annabeth asked, rather unpleasantly. Percy frowned at her but Bianca didn't seem offended. She nodded instead.

"I'm feeling much better now," Bianca smiled. "let's go."

"Whoever said we're including you—"

"We can't possibly leave her here," Rachel interjected Annabeth, frowning. The look she shot the daughter of Athena said, _what's wrong with you_?

Annabeth huffed in irritation, standing and stomping off, leaving her friends to scramble after her.

**PxB**

Bianca couldn't felt anymore grateful to the Fates for allowing Percy and his friends to find her. She'd nearly sobbed in relief when she saw Percy and had to refrain from throwing her arms around him. she would've done those if Annabeth wasn't glaring daggers at her. The brunette didn't know what had transpired between the blonde and her fellow brunette but she hoped they'd reconcile.

As Rachel the Seer lead them through the Labyrinth and its deadly traps, Bianca started to loose count of how many twists and turns they'd made. When the worst runner among them, the son of Poseidon groaned, "I can't run anymore—" the ground rumbled.

"Earthquake?" Bianca squeaked in fear.

"Run!" Annabeth yelled and they all didn't hesitate to obey. Bianca's ADHD mind told her that Percy was running as if he was an Olympic runner or like being chased by a crazy dog, which is to say, like crazy. Nothing like rocks crumbling down and killing you fuel you to run.

They were almost at the end of the tunnel when a column next to them groaned and buckled. They kept going as a hundred tons of marble crashed down behind them. They made it to the corridor and turned just in time to see the other columns toppling. A cloud of white dust billowed over them, and the questers kept running.

"You know what?" Annabeth said. "I like this way after all."

"I'm anything but tired." Percy agreed.

And Bianca snorted before choking on the smoke.

They continued on at a slower pace than sprinting like crazy but it wasn't long before they saw light ahead of them. They skidded to a stop and studied the new environment The demigods hesitated but the mortal forged ahead, leading them into a stainless steel hallway. Fluorescent lights glowed from the ceilings. The floor was a metal grate.

Percy had to squint to make out his female companions. They all looked pale, face and hair grimy with dirt but all of them still looked beautiful... in their own way.

"This can't be Daedalus' workshop," the daughter of Athena snapped, trying to contradict what the others thought as they walked, unable to bear the thought of being wrong. "The workshop should be the oldest part—"

"Shut up," Bianca said crankily, fed up with Annabeth's prideful attitude. She shot a glare the blonde's way before continuing onwards, stopping before a Greek letter and pressing it without hesitation. The three before Annabeth peered in and looked shocked.

It was hard to remember that Bianca was the daughter of Hades. The god of the Underworld and the most terrifying out of the Big Three. She was always so gentle and frail that the blonde had not thought her capable of wielding powers that children of the Big Three has.

Swallowing her broken pride, Annabeth followed them.

**PxB**

Nico was in a daze as he ran after Minos. The ghost king's words still echoing in his head: _Your sister Bianca is still alive_. Then rage bubbled in him as the rest of Minos' words registered. _But that Percy Jackson had her prisoner with him now_. His hatred towards the son of Poseidon only increased with those words and he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize the_ dracanae_s in the corner before they sprang out and accosted him.

The son of Hades yelled in surprise. "What?" he asked, breathless and confused before he registered Minos' evil cackling. His eyes narrowed with new hatred. "You lied to me!" The broken, silent and unspoken words: _did you lie about my sister being alive as well_?

Minos cackled evilly as she bound son of Hades was hauled to his feet by the monsters. "That I did, boy. Did you think a brat like you could ever control me?"

The furious glare was enough of an answer.

"Little fool!" Minos sneered. He gestured for the monsters to follow him. "This way to Daedalus' workshop."

"Where's my sister?" the son of Hades demanded angrily. "Is she—" his voice broke but he continued, "Is she okay?"

The ghost did not answer.

The son of Hades glared ahead, trying to dig his heels into the ground to stop the monsters from dragging him to what he was sure to his death. That failing, her was thrown onto on of the female monster's back. He glared at her but the blonde haired monster just stared back at him with sympathy.

"Your sister's still alive," she offered.

"How would I know you're not lying to me?" Nico hissed angrily.

But the young monster—a centaur—just shrugged and continued on trotting.

He hissed in pain as he was grabbed from the scruff of his neck and thrown onto the ground. He let out a harsh yelp when a spear implanted itself in front of him, nearly spearing his balls. He scrambled backwards and would've let loose a string of curses if not for the familiar voice calling out to him.

"Nico!"

He looked up and there, older than she was the last he saw her, Bianca stood. She lacked the silver glow that accompany the Hunters and she had something she didn't the last time he saw her: confidence and like their father, she radiated power and fear.

The monsters skittered nervously, the fear radiating off Bianca influencing them and Nico knew they were tempted to run instead of fight. He wished he could do what his sister could. Bianca locked eyes with Percy and all Hades broke loose.

Bianca yelled and from the earth, a dozen skeleton warriors rose to serve her. She drew her own Stygian Iron Sword and charged into battle. Nico noticed the pretty redhead darting off, not participating in the fight. The girl Annabeth and Percy charged into battle as well. Nico struggled on the ground, trying to free himself but he noted that the centaur girl that'd carried him struggling against a few skeleton.

He felt a pang of sympathy for her as she—so young—crumpled to the ground and a stab from the skeleton warrior's sword had her bursting into sparkles. He silently wished her a goodbye as he broke free of his bonds, murmuring a thankyou to her for telling him his sister was alive.

He faced Minos, by his sister's side, he felt no fear.

"You're not the ghost king," Bianca said, raising her sword.

"We are the children of Hades! You'd obey us." Nico stabbed his sword into the ground, mirroring his sister's actions. "And now, Minos, we command you: begone!"

The old dead kind howled in anger before disappearing, swallowed by the shadows. But even with him gone did not stop the monsters' advance; he clearly was not their leader as they thought he was.

"Come on!" the redhead was by his side, when Nico didn't know. She quickly fitted a pair of bronze wings on Nico's back before turning to help his sister.

"Bianca..." Nico said, tugging on his older sister's arm.

"Its okay," the daughter of Hades tried for a reassuring smile. But with the dead body of a _dracanae_ flung across her, splattering some monster blood on his sister's face, he wasn't so sure about safety. "I'll explain later." She added as she rubbed the monster slime of her face.

"Done!" the redhead yelled, grabbing the children of Hades' hands and tugging them towards the small window where Percy and Annabeth awaited. "Jump!"

"_What_?" Nico was sure he'd heard the girl wrong.

"We don't even know how to fly!" Percy protested.

"Zeus won't be please if we fly." Bianca added nervously, glancing at below the clouds.

"Well," Annabeth said grimly. "Good time to find out."

And together the five of the jumped out the window.

**PxB**

* * *

**A/N: **Who should Nico be paired with? The OC centaur girl? Or Rachel? Or Annabeth? Review and tell me!


	6. Chapter 6

**Stay With Me, Please?**

**Chapter Six: Silver Lining.**

* * *

Jumping down so high up in the sky with no way of staying aloft, or the knowledge of flying, was not Nico's idea of fun (little did he know, the son of Poseidon was thinking the same thing). But as long as he was with Bianca, he was okay with that (coincidentally, Percy was thinking the same thing). He had been separated from her for a long time that even if they were falling to their deaths, it was okay (Percy was thinking the same thing even as he flapped his hands futilely).

Just as he thought he was about to die from skykill, the son of Hades heard the daughter of Athena yelling instructions on how to use Daedalus' wings. He spread his arms and prayed that it would actually work and that he wasn't actually hanging onto a faulty one.

His prayers must've been heard because the wing caught the bronze feathers, holding him up. He looked up when he heard whoops of joy. His older sister and cousin were circling one another, the mortal girl and blonde girl were laughing too as they reveled in the joy of flying. He was starting to feel left out again when the redhead, Rachel, grasped his hand and pull him around, twirling in the sky and he found himself laughing too despite it all.

Their fun however, was cut short when Annabeth yelled another set of instructions: Land and you should do it. Everyone was clearly reluctant to get out of the sky—even stern uptight Annabeth—but they abided and landed safely on the ground. Annabeth and Rachel—especially the Seer—gazed longingly up the sky before stuffing their bronze wings into the trash can. The children of Hades and son of Poseidon were awed at the act of flying but when their uncle Zeus was watching them and waiting for the right time for his brothers to turn their head, so he could blast their children out of the sky...yeah, that sort of dampened that thought.

The children of the Big Three stood in awkward silence.

Nico didn't know what to do. He'd angered when he thought his sister was dead and would've given anything and everything to have her back. But now... all he felt was bitter jealousy as Bianca broke the awkward silence and explained that it was their father that'd saved her when she was trapped in the Talos model and had been in coma. Their father knew she was alive and yet he'd deemed it not important to tell him, his son, his daughter's brother. O Nico knew, he always knew he was the least favorited child, that he was unwanted. His father didn't love him, unlike Bianca and Percy and Thalia who were showered with love from their respective fathers.

But that jealousy was quickly replaced by gratefulness. If his father didn't care for him, that was okay. As long as he has his sister back. But he was worried too; concerned that Percy Jackson would take her away from him like he almost did before. He couldn't have that. He shot Percy a venomous glare when he noticed the way-too-close distance between his sister and the son of Poseidon.

"Bianca and I should return to the Underworld," he said mulishly. "while you guys can go on with your stupid quest."

Percy looked sad but he nodded his resigned assent, much to Nico's delight. He shot Bianca a wistful look which she returned with a forlorn smile but just as she opened her mouth to say something, he interrupted her with, "Yeah, its safer to be with your father than go on a dangerous journey with us."

"Percy," said Bianca sternly, face the same hard one that Nico was used to seeing when he was being reprimanded by her. "I'm not a damsel in distress and Nico isn't a weak child. We're children of the Big Three too, the oldest brother. We can fight," she looked at Nico with hopeful and soulful eyes, the silent _help me convince him _in her eyes and Nico's willpower crumbled.

"Yeah," Nico said, trying to sound upbeat and eager. "Children of Hades and underground...we're, er, very good with undergrounds. We can navigate the way for you!"

Ironic that previously Nico wanted to kill Percy but was now willingly helping him. Even though it was for his older sister and nothing more. The brunette's eyes lit up at the prospect of spending more time with his cousins—just Bianca, Nico was the third wheel—and agreed immediately.

When he told the other two questers, they didn't protest. Rachel even smiled at Nico and it made him light headed, finding himself smiling back to her. He missed the way Bianca nudged Percy, scowling at Rachel. But the son of Poseidon just laughed and waved the matter off.

**NxR**

Annabeth had wanted to protest at having the children of Hades as company. She'd broken the rule by bringing four questers with her and now two demigods and one mortal had joined them. She was worried that things will go even more wrong for her than it already had. Her meeting with Luke, and the Oracle's prophecy...she was terrified that she'll truly lose everything and it wasn't something she was looking forward too.

The daughter of Athena knew she'd treated both Bianca and Rachel badly when she first met them. But she was just too bitter, having rejected Luke for Percy who'd denied her for Bianca. She'd lost both the love of her life and she couldn't help but feel bitteress and ire at her own bad choice and the existence of those that had taken them away.

"Annabeth?" Said girl blinked when someone said her name and she raised her eyes to see who had spoken. Bianca. Though Rachel had said nothing, she was curiously looking back at Annabeth too. "Are you okay?"

This drew Percy's attention though Nico didn't seem to care, eyes narrowed and wary as and Rachel carved out the path ahead. The son of Poseidon craned his neck to study her. "Are you sick? Do you need some rest or ambrosia or nectar?"

Annabeth laughed at how concerned they was. "No, no. I'm okay, Seaweed Brain." Then added a second later. "Thanks for asking, Bianca...Rachel."

Rachel beamed at her, glad that she'd interpreted her message before she concentrated on the road ahead, eyes darting around wildly to discern any threats. Bianca smiled softly at her before she turned ot the front.

Despite her best wishes, something akin to jealousy stirred in her when somehow, Percy's hand slipped into Bianca's as he tugged her to walk on the same pace as he was walking.

**PxB**

Even though she had no objections on the prospect of having children from the Underworld following them on the quest, she was—understandably—concerned. She also did not understand how children of Hades' abilities worked. So she didn't see how useful they were until they met _him_.

The Titan King Kronos.

Percy had volunteered to go check out what was the evil aura of disturbance surrounding them as they walked on in the Labyrinth. Bianca was upset and after he left, slunk into the shadows and disappeared to where Rachel assumed Percy was. Nico was grumpy but after Annabeth nudged her into giving the younger boy a smile, he was back to having that aloof expression. She didn't know why he would feel better after seeing her smile. If smiling could make him happy, why didn't Annabeth just smiled at him herself? Why ask her to do so?

That was of course, until they heard a scream that was definitely Bianca's.

As one, the three had sprang to their feet and sprinted into the direction where Percy had went, knowing that the daughter of Hades will be there.

Rachel saw Nico's pale face and the pained expression on his face as he considered what had happened to his older sister. She reached out to grasp his hand on impulse, giving his cold hand a reassuring squeeze, telling him everything will be okay and Biacna was safe. Once, she would've called it a kind act, to pull his confidence back up. This time however, she couldn't help but feel that whatever she said was true and that would happen soon enough.

Just as she released his hand, Annabeth made a sharp turn and stopped. Rachel peered over the taller girl's shoulder to see the other two children of the Big Three. Terror seized the mortal Seer when she saw the golden-eyed man and the scythe in his hand, lazily advancing on the frozen-in-time son of Poseidon who had an arm around the daughter of Hades' waist. Rachel figured that something had blasted Bianca back and Percy had cushioned her fall, trying to protect her with his upheld Riptide.

The other demigods were frozen too, as if unable to think in their terror. And Rachel realized that even though she was effected, it wasn't that badly. Because she was mortal while her companions had godly blood in them so they were under full-effect of whatever that Titan had done to them. Her fingers were trembling but she reached into her pocket, grasping wildly for something she could use against the Titan Lord and—

Her fingers touched her blue hairbrush and she was pulling it out of her pocket even before she can comprehend her own actions. She wondered was it because the spell had slowed down her brain too. But that lazy feeling dispersed when her blue hairbrush actually hit Kronos smack in the eye.

"Ouch!"

And the spell was broken. Bianca fell into Percy's arm, breathing heavily with a gash on her brow. Percy was bleeding from the mouth but otherwise, he was fine.

"Run!" Rachel yelled, gesturing for them to come towards them.

Bianca was obviously dazed so Percy gathered her into his arms and ran towards them before Kronos can recover. Nico clasped his hands together as if praying and from the ground, onyx jagged rocks emerged, merging with the ceiling and cutting of the monsters' route towards them.

Kronos' roar of anger shook the Labyrinth but the barrier remained.

**NxR**

Nico was saddened to see Rachel leaving but he mustered a painful smile before waving the mortal girl a good-bye. He was suddenly struck by the thought that the twisting feeling in his gut was what Percy must've felt when he thought he was being forced from Bianca. And the son of Hades felt guilty; he may not know what this foreign emotion was but it felt nice when the person causing the feel was there yet suffocating time said person was gone. Maybe, after this, he wouldn't let Percy be away from Bianca for so long again.

"Come on, Nico," his sister said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and steering him towards a pegasus. "You'll see her again and we have other things to do."

"Other things?" he echoed, not having heard anything else they needed to do since their quest was officially over with their target gone.

"Camp's under attack," Percy said gravely, eyes hard and stormy. "we need to go help them. Now."

"And we need as much children of the Big Three," Annabeth added as her pegasus' wings spread, ready to take flight. "No time to waste."

And with that, the demigods on their respective pegasus soared into the sky.

When they reached camp, they weren't greeted with sunshine but with darkness. Already the campers were preparing for war. Chiron, the centaur introduced himself to Bianca, led the children of the Big Three—Annabeth had ran off to join her siblings, Tyson went to help the Hephaestus Cabin and Grover went to his satyrs and nymphs—to Camp's entrance to the Labyrinth, explaining anxiously as to how the monsters would charge out of the Labyrinth.

Bianca was trembling. She was a daughter of Hades, she shouldn't have felt fear, but that was what she felt. Her own fear influenced by the rest of the campers. She steeled her resolve to stay and fight instead of running away when she saw Nico's determined expression and Percy's brave and fearless one. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulling her emotions together and gathering influence from the two boys by her side.

When she opened her eyes again, Percy and Nico were looking at her in concern, asking if she were all right. Bianca really didn't know how to answer that but a thought hit her like a freight train when she saw and registered and burn their faces into her mind; this two boys were her most precious person, she couldn't—wouldn't—let them die.

She smiled and told them she was okay. Just as the monsters from the Labyrinth exploded out and into the forest. The battle was on. Chiron sent the children of Hades into the battle first and Bianca knew it was killing Percy but he did not argue. He grasped her hand and squeezed it, for reassurance and she squeezed back, her eyes sending a promise _I won't die, not yet and I'll come back to you_ as she disappeared into the sea of monsters.

In battle, Percy saw Bianca once or twice but that was okay, as long as he knew she was alive. He saw, the first time he got a glimpse of her, that she and her brother were back to back, fending off the enemies like they were born for battle and had been working together for years. The second time was when Bianca'd summoned a dozen skeletons to serve her in battle and she'd crumple to the ground in exhaustion and Percy couldn't do anything about it.

That drove him up the wall but he made sure to dispatched the monsters as quickly as he can, eyes darting around wildly trying to find Bianca again.

And when the battle was finally over, Percy had already wrapped his arms around Bianca's pale and sweaty and tired form murmuring over and over again _you're okay_.

Her small hands wrapped around him in return and he felt that things really will be okay. Because in the deaths and the pain...there will be a silver lining.

**PxB**

* * *

**A/N: **I noticed that Nico is way younger than Rachel if he is going to be paired with her in this story. But don't worry about the age difference, it'd change soon. **Review!**


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